Nagy Gyula: Parasztélet a vásárhelyi pusztán (A Békés Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 4. Békéscsaba, 1975)

Idegennyelvű kivonatok, képaláírások, képek

I old parents got a definite ammount of the produce that was enough for their comfortable livelihood. There was a great varitety in the sate of rent in the time of the transferation of ownership etc. as a function of quantity and quality of the soil and the relation between the members of the family. These are shown on the basis of several examples. Besides these there were also so called real leases that were not influenced either by family relations or the hopes of a later succession. These lands were leased by wealthy farmers well provided with capital so they could pay half of the hire in advance. The great families with less land looked also for rentable fields. Before World War I. lease was paid in money but later, during the period of inflation it became more frequent to pay with crop. A greater percentage of it was wheat and the rest barely and maize. The proportion of it was concordant with that of the production. The loser was frequently the contractor by this. Share farming was quite widespread not only in parential relation but also among strangers. If there had been a farm-house on the field the share-tenant had to pay for the use of it as well besides the produce sharing. The rent was mostly a young pig or several poultries. They laid down all the duties of the tenant, the questions of building reconstructions the use of the tools and several smaller provisions in a strict and detailed contract. These share-tenants were not independent contractors they gave only their working power and the owner had to give the seeds, tools and animals to work. So the tenant's dependence was close but small was his risk. Accordingly young couples, poor and beginners in farming were the undertakers. Fields sown with corn were leased on a third part basis. The tenant received one third of the corp as the price for his hacking made manually and collecting the seed. At harvest these share-workers were given work in the first time as a kind of privilege. There were a great number of various combination of these systems that aimed mostly secure produce and working power. Money had a relatively small importance here. A chapter discusses the labour organization of the work with a thrashing-machine. The earlier treading out of the seeds made with horses was succeded by machines at the beginning of the years 1900. People working with and around these machines received their day's wage in money and it was changed for produce in the years of inflation. As there were several farmers who had owned such a big estate that he and his family were not able to till they had to employ several types of agricultural labourers. 6 to 12 years old children worked as gooseherds. Older lads were hired as hinds for a year that usually started on January 6. The farmers fequently and willingly employed farm hands who had come from other parts of the country. Those of them who were able to take part in the mowing received a full wage that meant 8—12 q of wheat, 2 q of barely, cloths, linen, footware and some money. Usually a maid-of-all-work was employed too to be the helper of the housewife. The welthier farmers hired a herdsman too, but there were also such ones who had farm-hands only for the 5—6 weeks period of the harvest. Farm hind, was a man with family employed by those peasants who didn't lease their farm-houses and land but let it cultivated with the help of him. These people were paid a wage similar to that of the farm-hands working on the big estates, but their provisions over the wages proper mostly consisted of produce. There were also farm-hands who had been employed only for half a year. Chapter 4

th describes the strictly meant farm its buildings, the farm yard and also the life order there. If there was an opportunity to build on a smaller elevation (50—100 cms) then one can found the farm-house upon it because of the basing of these buildings were not known here and the water plane is very high. The buildings were situated to close the inner court at least on two but frequently on three sides. We can find the house on one side the stall on the other and complex there are a ground for keeping the straw, hay and fuel, a smaller grass-land, a vegetable plot and a smaller orchard. These together form the inner farm yard on an about 0,5 ha acreage. This was surrounded by the plough-land and 634